The present invention is generally directed to the treatment of ground surface areas about rail tracks which are occupied by rail vehicles. More specifically, the present invention provides for mobile subvehicular access to such occupied rail tracks for the efficient treatment of ground surfaces while the rail vehicles remain in situ.
To ensure safe rail systems, the efficient treatment and eradication of weeds about ground surface areas around railway tracks are important aspects of railroad maintenance. These ground surface areas about rail tracks, including the roadbed foundation of the rail tracks, the track ballast material on which the track's rails and ties are laid, and the surrounding right of way areas extending along the tracks, require persistent monitoring for and control of unwanted vegetation growth, particularly the growth various stubborn weeds. Weed growth can create fire and tripping hazards which if not adequately controlled may keep a railroad from passing the required regulatory inspections. To abate such hazards and keep rail tracks safe, herbicide (and/or other material) treatment measures employing hi-rail spray trucks are conventionally used for mobile treatment along rail tracks, including the tracks at rail yards. These spray truck vehicles are equipped with pneumatically powered retractable wheels resembling train wheels, which enable them to travel on rail tracks much like a train or other rail vehicle would. Typically, a hi-rail sprayer truck drives onto a train track and once properly positioned and aligned over the track's rails, extends its retractable wheels to descend and lock onto the head portion of the parallel rails. By these retractable wheels the hi-rail spray truck is able to drive on the parallel rails while spray-treating the ground surfaces about the track along the way.
Where a rail track is occupied by a train car or other rail vehicle, such spray truck is obstructed, such that it cannot continue the treatment at or beyond the obstructing rail vehicle. This is typically the case in rail yards where one or more rail vehicles are invariably parked on at least some of the rail track segments. Thus, before any spray treatment of the rail yard may begin, all of the rail cars must be moved off and out of the way from the track segments to be treated. This often requires much time consuming and labor intensive effort, with operators having to start up otherwise dormant locomotives, hook parked and train cars to them, haul the cars out of the way to allow access to the spray truck, then return the cars and locomotive back to their original parked positions in the rail yard afterwards. Such a process not only consumes much time and coordinated effort, it is expensive.
Furthermore, hi-rail spray trucks are typically configured to spray liquid herbicide or other treatment materials, which are subject to freezing in certain temperatures. Thus, treatment is unduly subject to weather conditions, and generally limited to only certain months of the year. The combined effect of these and other shortcomings in practice is to limit access to conventional spraying/treatment of ground surfaces at rail tracks in settings such as rail yards where the rail tracks tend to be occupied by a rail vehicle. There is therefore a need for a more time, labor, and cost effective system and method for mobile treatment about rail tracks in such settings. There is a need for such system and method adaptable enough to dispense a treatment material in either liquid and/or solid form. There is, moreover, a need for such system and method for mobile treatment of ground surfaces about rail tracks which remain occupied by a rail vehicle.